Ralph Schoellhammer
The post-war order of free trade is dying before our eyes—and perhaps that’s the best thing that could happen to the West. What we’re witnessing today is nothing less than a fundamental realignment of geopolitical power relations, where democratic states find themselves forced to adopt authoritarian economic practices to defend their own sovereignty. But this transformation reveals a deeper cultural problem that has been decades in the making: Our civilisation’s inexplicable war against the very foundations that make modern life possible.
The European Union is planning measures that would have been unthinkable just a decade ago. Chinese companies will be required to transfer technology to European firms if they want access to European markets. Joint ventures could become mandatory, local sourcing quotas enforced—in short, all those practices about which the West has criticised China for years. These measures, announced for November, are theoretically directed against all non-EU companies, but the real target is obvious: China’s subsidized industrial products have flooded European markets while Beijing’s looming restrictions on rare earth elements threaten to squeeze European manufacturers into submission.
The irony is unmistakable but strategically necessary. A rules-based international order only works when all participants play by the same rules—a condition that has long ceased to exist. Yet this shift exposes something more troubling: We’re adopting these measures not from a position of strength, but because we’ve systematically weakened our own industrial foundations.
Even more drastic action came from the Dutch government’s takeover of Chinese-owned semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia under the rarely-used Goods Availability Act. This “highly exceptional” intervention, as Dutch authorities themselves call it, shows how deeply Chinese capital has penetrated European critical infrastructure. Nexperia, owned by China’s Wingtech Technology, produces basic semiconductor components essential for automotive and consumer electronics—chips that form the backbone of Europe’s industrial economy. What was once considered normal business activity is now recognised as potential leverage that European policymakers can no longer ignore.
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